GORDON Strachan is not the easiest man in the world to second guess - and it is unlikely he has yet decided on his next move.

The former Scotland international has attracted the attention of a number of clubs during a ten-month exile from football, but has always maintained that he would only return to management when the timing and offer is right for all sides.

He is clearly enjoying working for the BBC as an expert pundit and is also good at it.

But right now, he is at the very top of Milan Mandaric's list of candidates to replace Harry Redknapp as Portsmouth manager.

Seeing Strachan and Redknapp in opposite dugouts next year and instructing teams the other largely created is certainly some thought.

Mandaric has said he wants to talk with Strachan this week.

The former Saints boss distanced himself from the vacancy two weeks ago and has since kept quiet.

And, although he admires Mandaric, it seems likely the chairman will have to work fairly hard to persuade him to buy into his vision for Portsmouth.

There originally appeared to be two main stumbling blocks.

Strachan likes living in the area and is hugely popular in Southampton following his successful tenure as Saints boss. He would not want to ruin that.

Yet, Redknapp's arrival at Southampton might have changed things somewhat.

After all, Saints supporters can hardly complain about Strachan keeping a promise to his family and taking a ten-month break before getting back into football, while also applauding Redknapp for coming to them just a fortnight after leaving Pompey.

The other hurdle could be the arrival of Velimir Zajec at Pompey.

He does not have the title of director of football, but that is what he is commonly assumed to be and any prospective manager will surely want assurances about his precise role.

Indeed, Strachan recently said: "The only way I could work with a director of football is if I totally trusted him and we shared a football philosophy."

Mandaric was wrong to impose Zajec on Redknapp and it could still be difficult for him to work with Strachan or any other manager.

If structuring the academy is his job, then fine.

But to have an outsider to the managerial team effectively reporting to the chairman on matters concerning football and the first-team would be a recipe for problems.

Of course, like Redknapp, an incentive for Strachan could be the proximity of a Premiership job to his home.

Certainly if he is ready to get back into football and happens to be attracted by the challenge at Portsmouth, Saints fans should wish him the very best.

Indeed, coupled with Redknapp's move last week, it would be a development that might just soften the sometimes unpleasantly hard edge of the Saints/Pompey rivalry.